Arts

South Florida artist Jade Masters would like her new art gallery and lounge to become a “second home” for the LGBTQ community.

The grand opening of the Jade Masters Art Gallery & Lounge is set for Saturday, April 13, 2013 from 6 p.m. to midnight in Oakland Park. Music will be provided by: A Girl Named Chuck, America of Dark Star Revolt in a solo performance, Lukkas Wolf (who will also display his visual art), and DJ Rae Rae. Beer, wine and alcohol are courtesy of The Circus Bar and Grill.

Besides Lukkas Wolf, a few of the other visual artists include Tia Crystal, a spiritual medium and visionary artist; and eVol i, aka J. 0Vinazza, artist/writer/filmmaker.

In an email interview with SFGN, Masters shared artist statements from all three. Wolf views art as a way “to share…the daily lessons and the joyous successes as a Trans guy.”

Crystal will present her “Buddha Babe” figurines and described her work as a combination of “the scientific insights of New Age with Mankind’s ancient wisdom.”

Lastly, eVol I asserts how he “take from the surreal and the abstract... create a world out of a feeling.”

Masters will also display her work. She identifies as an “eco-friendly mixed media artist.”

“I really do want to save the Earth, one painting at a time,” Masters told SFGN. “Coming up with new ways to use non-biodegradable items in order to help our environment inspires me.”

She noted that the benefits of being an artist in South Florida are “all the talented people…”

But she also shared some drawbacks.

“I’m disheartened by the cost to show our work and the commissions most galleries take,” said Masters. “I charge a flat rate of $75 a month for the same amount of wall space as other galleries who charge between $300 and $3,000. They also charge 50 to 60 percent commissions. I only take 30 percent. I don’t think it is right to take so much from the artist. That’s why I chose a warehouse for my gallery to keep my overhead low. I want a win/win for everyone.”

According to the biography on her website, Masters had an arduous path before becoming an artist. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse, she ran away from home at the age of fourteen. Eventually, she attended the PACE Center for Girls, a non-residential delinquency prevention program.

Masters noted that she first started painting “to release the build-up pain from a breakup.” She had wanted “a healthy outlet instead of turning to drugs or cutting for a release.”

As the gallery’s grand opening approaches, she is excited that her artistic endeavors have “grown into a community of like minds and visions.”

Masters intends to feature established as well as emerging artists. But another goal is to encourage the LGBTQ community to develop a wider appreciation of the arts. With this goal in mind, Masters will open a co-op art studio at 3525 NW 10th Ave., two doors down from the gallery and lounge.

“We all started out with the same box of crayons,” Masters said. “But if we colored outside the lines or made the cow purple, we were told it was wrong. It’s OK to paint your cow purple. A paint brush and some paint are so much better than any pill on the market. Plus the only side effect is a beautiful piece of art.”

Masters particularly reaches out to LBT women.

“Being a lesbian artist, I felt there is not enough attention focused on the artistic lesbian or transgender community. When I Google ‘famous lesbian artist painters’ almost nothing comes up. I want to change this. I want to shine the spotlight on our amazing women,” Masters said.

“For many of us, ‘art’ is our therapy. Our works are like reading the pages of our diaries,” said Masters. Her hope is that the Jade Masters Art Gallery & Lounge is known as “a safe place to express freely.”